


Snowflakes in His Mane

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 07:21:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16806064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Louisa introduces her show horse to her best friend, with unexpected results. Viktor and Phantom belong to sso_Viktor7.





	Snowflakes in His Mane

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sso_Viktor7](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sso_Viktor7/gifts).



"I'm surprised the horse market even still has horses, considering how many you have," Viktor said as he and his freind, Louisa, did a few odd jobs at the horse market. In addition to capturing the horses (who got loose every time the horse market moved), Ferdinand and Eddie now had any helpers perform some odd jobs like feeding the horses and giving them fresh water.

"I don't own all of them," said Louisa with a roll of her eyes as she set a haybale down heavily, leaning it against one of the wooden bars that kept the for-sale horses in place. "Just most."

"Talk about crazy horse lady," said Viktor with a chuckle. Louisa shrugged, accepting the insult because she was the one who'd coined it in the first place. Her phone buzzed before she could pick the hay back up, though, which she definitely wasn't about to complain about. Curious, Louisa opened the message and then gave a cry of delight. "What is it?"

"King's home!" Louisa cheered, turning to her friend with a grin.

"Really?" Viktor asked, giving her a grin of his own.

"Yeah!" said Louisa, reading through the message again. "He's arrived at South Hoof, that was the driver telling me. Finally, you can meet my show horse."

"I'll meet you in Moorland with Phantom?" Viktor asked. He'd brought Champion, his chestnut Hanoverian, out while he and his friend were training, if only because Champion wanted to give his legs a good stretch.

"Yeah, sounds good," said Louisa. "I'll meet you there."

Back at South Hoof, Louisa gave King a quick grooming and a few hugs as she chattered to him about everything that had been going on while he'd been gone.

"And now you get to meet my best friend Vik and his horse Phantom," said Louisa. "Just take it a bit easy on him, he's a bit sensitive about some things. Phantom, I mean, Vik's sensitive too but you won't be able to upset him I'm pretty sure."

"Phantom?" King echoed. He had the oldest-sounding voice in Louisa's stables, despite not actually being that old.

"Yeah," said Louisa.

"What was his show name?" King asked. "I feel like I recall that name."

"I think Vik said he was called A Noble Promise?" said Louisa, her brow furrowed as she thought. "His barn name is Noblephantom, though, so Vik just calls him Phantom."

"Noble!" said King, his eyes bright as he flicked his tail. He looked half his age. "Are we truly going to see him?"

"Yeah," said Louisa, nodding. "He's Vik's best friend, other than me, of course."

"Oh," said King, beginning to shuffle his hooves. "Do I look okay? How is my mane? Are my hooves shiny?"

"Woah, hey there," said Louisa. "Your mane and hooves are fine, and your coat is like fresh snow. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"Why, when I was in my prime, I idolised A Noble Promise," said King. "And you say that you are friends with his owner? I'd always wondered what happened to him after that final disastrous show. The poor thing, I was devastated for him. And yet, I always somehow felt, in my heart, that the fault was not his. Why, sometimes, I get a rider who does not know me as they should, and it ruins our entire performance."

"Yeah, that's the thing he's sensitive about," said Louisa. "How it ended. So just don't bring that up, okay?"

"If I am able to talk to him at all," said King, giving a whinny of near-nervousness. "I don't know what to say, really."

"Oh," said Louisa, understanding dawning on her. In the stall right next to the stable door, her Andalusian mare, Smokeeye, raised her head and flicked her ears in the direction of the conversation. She knew what was going on. "I see how it is. Don't worry, King, you'll be fine, I'm sure Phantom will find your company most enjoyable, as you say."

"Oh, I hope so," said King. "I-I know that you used Christmas tack on me in the past, and tis the season, judging by the decorations I saw decorating the farm buildings here, but perhaps you should use more professional-looking tack on me now?"

"Honestly, I should've been doing that from the start," said Louisa as she headed off to the tack room. "Wait there." She did have a favourite tack set, the Pioneer set that she used on all of her horses (at least while she was training them), but there was a nice set that she'd bought in Jorvik City. It looked nice on Honeymint, who she'd been training, and Trouble, who was currently who knew where. So it was easy to locate the tack set, which she found just inside of the tack room door. It was still warm from being on Honeymint, which she knew that King would appreciate due to how cold it was outside. Winter had been a long time coming to Jorvik, but now, the air had a definite bite to it. Louisa wondered if it would snow on Jorvik this year, or if the sleighs would return to take visitors to the mystical, magical Christmas Village.

And yet... as Louisa rode into Moorland, recently renovated, with King, she saw a few snowflakes drift into King's snowy-white mane.

"Oh goodness, oh goodness, oh goodness," King fretted as Louisa slowed him where the Moorland gates had once been. "Oh my, this is different, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Thomas felt like renovating, I guess," said Louisa, stroking a hand over his long, thick mane. She grinned and sat up with a wave as she caught sight of her friend with his beloved Phantom. Beneath her, King froze, and Louisa could feel his anxiety threatening to leak into her.

"I think he broke Phantom," said Vik, gently nudging Phantom's sides with his heels again. His horse didn't move at all, almost frozen to the spot. A single snowflake landed on Phantom’s nose, and he didn't even sneeze.

"Well, Phantom broke him, so I guess that makes us even," said Louisa. She tried nudging King's sides again, and this time, King actually walked forward a few steps until he was standing right in front of Phantom. Phantom pinned his ears, though he didn't look too scared, and turned so that he stood beside King.

"Phantom is radiating very gay energy right now," said Vik. "Well, bisexual energy, I guess."

"King remembers Phantom from back in his eventing days," said Louisa. "I think he had a celebrity crush on him."

"Aww," Viktor cooed. "I think it was a little more than that."

"You know what? You're right," said Louisa, seeing the way that the two horses kept looking at each other. When they caught eyes, Phantom seemed to freeze a little. Louisa privately wondered who would go in for a nuzzle first. She also wondered if they'd ever move again, considering how frozen stiff both horses were with nerves.

"Not to complain but can we move?" Viktor asked after the third newbie rider had come up and tried to start a conversation with him. Maybe it was because he was a boy, and most of these young girls were probably straight with no clue that Viktor was a very gay man.

"You're asking the wrong person," said Louisa, nudging King's sides. King didn't budge, which didn't surprise her. She was almost beginning to worry that his hooves had frozen to the ground.

"Phantom, come on, can we go please?" Viktor asked, leaning down to caress Phantom's ears. That movement seemed to shock Phantom out of his trance, because he finally moved his hooves. Viktor looked at Louisa. "Where to?"

"Epona," said Louisa. "We'll ride up past Wolf Hall Inn and go through the gates. I haven't ridden along that road in ages."

"Epona it is," said Viktor, grinning. And this time, when he nudged Phantom's sides with his heels, Phantom set off into a walk, King walking alongside him.

"I love his fancy trot," said Louisa as they left Moorland behind them. It became noticeably quieter now, with the crowd of new riders behind them.

"He's a fancy boy," said Viktor. "Phantom is fancy and sassy." Louisa laughed, looking between the two horses. The horses still glanced at each other from time to time, but thankfully, their riders knew what they were doing.

Peace settled over the two friends and their horses as they passed through the gates to Epona. Louisa relaxed, knowing that new riders were forbidden from entering this beautiful land. Perhaps that was part of why she liked it so much. That and Guardian's Dale. And the rich history that she was just begging to know about, but everyone in the area was oddly tight-lipped on the subject. But now, riding beside her best friend while their horses continued to glance at each other, Louisa felt only peace. Even when they passed through the Mirror Marshes and the mosquitoes descended, Louisa only brushed them away lightly.

"You know, I never really slow down enough to really appreciate the beauty of this place," said Louisa as they passed through the marshes. The leaves of the willows brushed over both them and their horses, a feeling that was definitely not unpleasant.

"If you slow down, the newbie riders will find you," said Viktor. Louisa laughed.

"Exactly," said Louisa. She always felt oddly at peace when she was with Viktor. Not that her other friends didn't also make her feel peaceful, but Viktor was... different. Maybe it was their shared introverted nature or something.

The ride was peaceful up until they passed through New Hillcrest and were on the road going past Fort Maria. There, Phantom suddenly turned his head and plunged into a field of corn.

"Yes, there's corn, what about it?" said Viktor after muttering curses in his native Spanish tongue. He took his cap off, running his hand over his curly hair. "Dios, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I think this has turned into a dinner date," said Louisa, riding King into the corn field after Phantom. She dismounted and took out King's bit, Vik doing the same with Phantom so that the two horses could eat.

"Think Jamie Olivetree's still open?" Vik asked. "They're eating but we're not."

"I'd rather starve than eat her food, honestly," said Louisa. "But don't worry, I always come prepared." Vik grinned in delight as Louisa reached into King's saddlebag and pulled out a plastic container filled with cookies that she'd baked at home.

While the two friends leaned against the fence of the corn field, King and Phantom hid shy glances from each other among the corn stalks.

"You are Phantom now, correct?" King asked, peeking out from around a corn stalk. Phantom grabbed an ear of corn, managing to tear it from the stalk without ruining the plant too much. He munched on it before answering.

"Yes," said Phantom. "I was once A Noble Promise, but now, I am only Noblephantom, or Phantom to my rider." He flicked an ear in the direction of Vik.

"Ah, I was once the King of Diamonds," said King. "I competed in dressage. Now, though... nobody wants me, except for my rider, Louisa." He gestured to Louisa with his head. "Oh, was that too forward? I am terribly sorry. I am King, now. Diamondking."

"That's a fancy name," said Phantom. "You live up to it."

"Louisa did tell me not to talk about your past but I've already gone and ruined that, blast it all," King muttered. Phantom plucked off another ear of corn but this time offered it to King. "Oh, is this to shut me up? Have I said too much or-"

"Eating might help calm your nerves," said Phantom after shoving the ear of corn into King's mouth. King crunched down on it, eating it quickly.

"Thank you," said King after swallowing his mouthful. "I was rather hungry."

"Do you want some more?" Phantom asked, already eyeing off the perfect ear of corn close to him.

"Er, if you don't mind, of course," said King. Phantom gave a nicker as he grabbed another ear of corn and tugged.

Instead of coming off, however, the entire corn plant was uprooted, causing Phantom to stumble back a few steps. He almost fell but managed to right himself, shaking his head. The stem of the corn plant hung from his mouth, dragging on the ground. King gave a nicker of amusement, stepping closer.

"Are you alright?" King asked. Phantom sneezed, dropping the stem. King bent his head to pick it up, finding the ear of corn and nibbling on it.

"That was a little corny, wasn't it?" Phantom asked. King gave a whinny of laughter, shaking his head. As his laughter died down, he finished off his corn, dropping the stem back onto the ground.

"I shall call you that, now," said King. "Corny." Phantom pinned his ears but gave a nicker.

"I like that," said Phantom. "Now I only need a nickname for you."

"Well, if we spend more time together, I am certain that you will find a nickname for me in no time," said King. He was feeling a little braver now. Maybe it was the food in his stomach, or maybe it was Phantom being so kind to him. He'd half-expected Phantom to be gloomy after his fall from grace, but here he was, looking genuinely happy. What had Louisa been so worried about?

"Look at them," Louisa whispered from where she nibbled on a cookie beside Viktor.

"He looks so happy," said Vik, brushing a tear from his eye.

"They both do," said Louisa. As they watched, King plucked an ear of corn and offered it to Phantom. Each horse took a bite out of it, their teeth meeting in the middle. The horses took a step away from each other, looking shy again. "Their first kiss!" Louisa's voice was a squeak.

"I know!" said Vik, his voice similarly squeaky as he grinned at the pair.

"Tonight feels very gay," said Louisa, still watching the two horses. Phantom plucked an ear of corn and offered it to King, who took it in the same way as before.

"Also cold," said Viktor, shivering. Louisa glanced from Viktor to the horses.

"I have a spare jacket for you but it’s in King’s saddlebag," said Louisa.

"I don't want to interrupt them," said Vik. "Just look at them!" He gestured at them, seeing that they were sharing another ear of corn.

"Well, don't freeze to death on their account," said Louisa. "Phantom would never forgive you."

"I know," said Vik. He rubbed his arms, then stuffed his hands into his armpits. "I'll give them another half hour, maybe."

"Good plan," said Louisa. She shuffled closer to Vik anyway, though, sharing her body heat with him. Tonight definitely was very gay and very cold. The snow seemed to have stopped, though. For now, anyway.


End file.
